Person

Person Name Barnum, P. T.
Alternate Names Barnum, Phineas Taylor (Full name)
Gender Male
Cultural Identity American
Country(ies) of Residence United States
Birth Date July 5, 1810
Death Date April 7, 1891
Dates Active April 7, 1891
Genre Specialization(s) Circus arts
Geographic Affiliations New York (N.Y.)
Performing Art Group Affiliations Barnum's American Museum sideshow performers
Institutional Affiliations Barnum's American Museum (New York)
Reference(s) P. T. Barnum; America’s Greatest Showman, an Illustrated Biography.
Notes Showman Phineas Talyor Barnum first took a version of his American Museum on the road as "P. T. Barnum's Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan and Circus," in 1870, known as "The Greatest Show on Earth" by 1872. Barnum's show included sideshow attractions (curiosities, freaks and oddities), circus acts (animal training, acrobatics, and other feats of skill and daring), a menagerie, and art exhibits. In fact, Barnum virtually invented the sideshow, drawing performers and human oddities from all over the world to appear in his productions, and he was also responsible for bringing many types of exotic animals to the United States for the first time. Since that time, Barnum's circus has bought, merged with, and been bought by a great number of other circuses, a selection of which are listed in the Alternate Names area of this Performing Art Group entry. As of 2005, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus is possibly the largest and longest-running circus organization in the world. SFPALM

Associated Items

Associated Productions 1851Jun09 (Jenny Lind) ,
1850 (Jenny Lind) ,
1881, Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus ,
1863Feb10, Grace Episcopal Church, Barnum's American Museum sideshow performers, Fairy Wedding, The
Representations of person in components 1003770
Components associated with person 1003755, 1003773